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Future Esports Academy have been crowned the Telkom VS Gaming Rocket League Championship winners in their debut appearance, securing a clean-sweep victory over Synthesis ENMT in the Grand Final at Comic Con Africa 2026, currently taking place at the Johannesburg Expo Centre. Synthesis ENMT finished as the 2026 runners-up.
The newly established esports team, founded by 19-year-old Marko Appelcryn, was formed after he saw an opportunity to continue his competitive Rocket League journey beyond the High School Esports League.
“So, in 2024, after I finished Matric, I needed to make money and had already been thinking about starting a coaching business focused on schools. At the beginning of this year, I started working with three of my close friends, who are now part of the team. One of them is from Namibia, Rio-Rodan Moller, who is our captain, while the other two are currently coaches of school teams,” said Appelcryn.
He also explained that their high school esports experience helped bring the team together, while competing against European players has allowed them to continue sharpening their skills. Some members of the team also have previous Championship experience, which has further contributed to their tournament performance.
Building on their chemistry and connection they decided to have a boot camp for a week which helped with improving our strategy that focused on the mental game for their youngest player.
“We have a 16-year-old who is already performing at this level. I always stand behind them to give the moral support that they need. And looking at that, we once lost to Synthesis ENMT, we already knew some of their game plans. We just stuck to our game plan and came to the stage to have fun while playing the final. So, the main thing was to just trust each other,” said Appelcryn.
The Telkom VS Gaming HSEL and Championship Rocket Leagues has been concluded for the 2026 Comic Con Africa at the Johannesburg Expo Centre that started on Thursday, 24 September, to Sunday, 27 September 2026.
TELKOM VS GAMING ROCKET LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP WINERS:
Future Esports Academy
TELKOM VS GAMING HSEL ROCKET LEAGUE WINNERS:
Curro Durbanville Wolves Prime
INFO SUPPLIED.